George Zimmerman trial: State asks for inquiry into ice-cream photo, 'stupidity' caption

Molly West's Instagram photo

Molly West, the daughter of George Zimmerman's attorney Don West, caused a stir by posting this photo to her Instagram account, which has since been deleted, with the caption "We beat stupidity celebration cones ... #zimmerman #defense #dadkilledit"

Molly West, the daughter of George Zimmerman's attorney Don West, caused a stir by posting this photo to her Instagram account, which has since been deleted, with the caption "We beat stupidity celebration cones ... #zimmerman #defense #dadkilledit"

Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD — Prosecutors in the George Zimmerman murder trial have filed paperwork asking the judge to make a formal inquiry about a photo of defense attorney Don West eating an ice-cream cone that his daughter posted on Instagram seemingly mocking the state's star witness, Rachel Jeantel.

It shows West, who had taken Jeantel, the state's star witness, through a punishing 5 1/2 hour cross-examination, smiling and eating ice cream cones with two of his daughters.

It was posted by his adult daughter, Molly West, with the cutline, "We beat stupidity celebration cones #zimmerman #defense #dadkilledit" on the same day Jeantel testified. But it was shot days earlier, said Shawn Vincent, a spokesman for Zimmerman's defense team.

On Friday, Vincent apologized for the post, calling it "grossly insensitive."

He quoted Don West as saying, "As a parent we're not always proud of everything they do. We love them anyway and move on."

But on Monday, Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei filed a motion asking Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson to look into what happened.

He wrote that it is her job to make sure witnesses are treated with respect and are not the subject of "inappropriate jokes."

In a response filed Tuesday, West writes that the photo was taken the day before Jeantel testified. He writes his daughter posted it without asking him and that he didn't authorize the caption.

"The picture was intended to capture a private family moment and was never intended to be a comment on the trial or the testimony of any witness," West's response says.